Outside Fun with Hiro! And Celebrity Panera

The Cat, that is. He likes to talk ...a lot! And harasses me to take him outside all the time. So, Every now and then, I humor him .( Usually everyday) And we hang out outside where he can chase squirrels, rabbits , and the one chipmunk that hangs out by the side. Usually he just hangs out under the shed or climbs a tree. The animals tend to disappear after he has been outside for a while. The neighbor has a Ginko tree that is rather cool to look at. It is one of the only trees that still have a few leaves that have color. Anyways, I have found out where the Hollywood celebrities hang out when they want to disappear from the world. Iowa! Here in Panera, We see Steven Spielburg just about everyday! He's a regular. IN addition to him, We ocasionally see Meridith Baxter, Jason Robards, and John Belushie! It's funny, But everyday we see familiar faces right here in our little corner of Iowa and some of these people end up famous! Ok not really, Just because Cheryl and I identify them as these people, they are not. In fact some of these famous people are dead so it is impossible. But I'm sure some of you reading this have seen people that are dead ringers for a famous person. Perhaps I'll post pics so I can prove it....but it would be creepy asking total strangers to pose for a picture.

Making Ink from Oak

I've read about this in my favorite book about oak. That you can make INK from it's bark! I'm not sure about the chemistry behind it, but when I started this latest project, Oak chips were flying all over and landed in the cooling water I use to cool my chisels during sharpening. Well, several weeks later....I have this lovely blue/purple dye in my water. It's not strong enough yet to make much of a mark on paper, so I decided to add a little more of the ingredient's. We'll give it a little time and see if I can make it more potent. As for carving...I Worked on the hair tonight. Not much to show really, but it is taking shape and she is now light enough to pick up by myself.

Some new Carving.. FINALLY!

This IS a carving blog after all! Yes tonight after finishing the hinge and taking it out for a spin, I was able to get going on my next carving projects. Nothing really fancy, just a couple of new boxes. I'm exploring the insect Realm for a change. Bugs are just way cool! I only hope other people find them as much fun as I do. I did throw in a mouse and frog. I ran out of daylight, so to speak, so I'll have to finish the rest up tomorrow. And resharpen a few of my finer chisels. Oh! Just to keep those Anime fans interested, We have been watching Black Cat again ( we own the video set) But they have posted the complete series on Funimation.com so you can check it out for free. Cheryl loves it so much she also has the entire Manga collection. Enjoy the opening!